AN ADVENT JOURNEY: A FOUR WEEK DEVOTIONAL

AN ADVENT JOURNEY: A FOUR WEEK DEVOTIONAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 2 INTRODUCTION HOW TO USE THIS DEVOTIONAL PAGE 3 WEEK ONE HOPE PAGE 5 WEEK TWO PEACE PAGE 7 WEEK THREE JOY PAGE 9 WEEK FOUR LOVE

INTRO HOW TO USE THIS DEVOTIONAL HOPE. PEACE. JOY. LOVE. These are the marks of the Advent season. They are the things we remember each and every year as we celebrate the season leading up to the birth of Christ. And yet, because of the busyness of our calendars, the circumstances of life, and the demands of our schedules, they are the things we so often miss out on experiencing in our lives during the holiday season. Christ came so that we might have true and lasting hope, peace, joy, and love in our lives. And so, no matter how busy we are or how hard things may get, we don t want to miss the opportunity to pause, reflect, and remember during this Advent season. To help focus your heart on what matters this season, we ve created this four-week devotional guide to walk you through Advent. Each week focuses on one on specific aspect reflected in the birth of Christ Hope Peace Joy Love As you journey through this devotional, take time to think through the questions, spend time in prayer, and participate in the activities with your family. Our prayer is that as you turn your eyes to the coming Savior this Christmas season, your hearts will be transformed as you remember the birth of the One who came to save us. 2

WEEK ONE HOPE READ The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has chosen me to bring good news to poor people. He has sent me to heal those with a sad heart. He has sent me to tell those who are being held and those in prison that they can go free. He has sent me to tell about the year of the Lord s favor, and the day our God will bring punishment. He has sent me to comfort all who are filled with sorrow. Isaiah 61:1-2 NLV. That he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 NIV UNDERSTAND Waiting. It s the hallmark of the Advent season. Thousands of years ago, so many people were waiting for the long-promised birth of their Savior. They had listened to the prophecies that proclaimed and pointed to His coming for years, but still, as the season we now know as Advent was beginning, the people were still waiting to see those promises fulfilled. Even though we now live on the other side of the story the side that knows the promises of the prophets were fulfilled in Christ we still struggle in the waiting. Whether we re waiting on the answer to a desperate prayer, or the fulfillment of a hope we hold deep in our hearts, or just a resolution to a circumstance that we re struggling with in our lives, the waiting is hard. Because it s in the waiting that we begin to wonder if things really are going to turn out the way we hope. It s in the waiting that our faith in the promises of God begins to feel flimsy. In those seasons of waiting, we can look back to this season of Advent and remember the hope that the birth of Christ brought to the world, both then and now. We can look back to the messages of those who came after Him. Men like Paul, who reminds us in Philippians that God is faithful to complete every single good work He s begun in our lives. Those assurances may not always make the waiting easier to walk through, but they can give us the confidence that we can always trust that God is still working in the waiting. 3

HOPE CONTINUED RESPOND QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. When it comes to waiting on important things in your life, how do you handle it? Are you peaceful and patient? Or are you anxious and afraid? 2. How does remembering the promise of Christ fulfilled at Christmas give you hope that other promises He s made to you will be fulfilled, too? 3. What are you waiting on right now in your life? How can you remember the hope of Christ in the midst of that? 4. How can you look for God working in your waiting? PRAYER God, thank You that we don t have to wonder where You are in the waiting. Thank You that we can always trust You to fulfill Your promises to us. As we remember the hope that Christ brought to the world this Advent season, fill us with hope that You are always working for our good in the waiting. FAMILY TIME At dinner one night this week, talk to your kids about what it looks like to wait on something they really want! And as you do, make them wait! Place your family s favorite dessert at the center of the table. But don t let them dig in right away! Before anyone can have dessert, everyone must go around the table to share their answer to this question: What s one thing I m waiting on this Christmas? Their answers could include anything from gifts under the tree to prayers they hope to see answered to experiences they want to share this season. But remember, no dessert until every single person has answered! Then, as you pass out dessert and begin digging in, talk about why waiting on something whether it s your favorite treat or an unanswered prayer can be difficult...and rewarding. To close, pray together as a family, asking God to remind you that He is with you as you wait on anything in this life. 4

WEEK TWO PEACE READ For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15 NIV UNDERSTAND Think about your calendar in the coming weeks. What s the craziest thing you have on the schedule? The busiest, most hectic time you have? Maybe it s a long day of travel, or a week filled with school activities, or an afternoon shopping for those last minute gifts on a budget, or a visit from a family member who is anything but easy to have around. Whatever it is, when you think about it, it probably leaves you feeling anything but peaceful. The truth is, it s easy to let the busyness and stress of the season steal the peace that s meant to mark it. Remember though that peace is exactly the point of the season; peace is what Christ came to Earth to bring us. It s not the peace that comes from an easy holiday, or a stress-free vacation, or a family who doesn t fight (though that kind of peace is certainly nice!). No, the peace that we remember at Advent is a peace that goes much deeper than that. It s a lasting peace the kind that is only possible in and through Christ. His call is to not just let peace be in our hearts, but to allow it to rule in our hearts. In other words, the peace of Christ should be the guiding force in our lives. And when it is, we ll be the kind of people who spill that same peace out to everyone we come in contact with, no matter what is going on in our lives. As your calendar fills up and the hectic days of the holidays threaten to take over, remind yourself of the peace that we celebrate at Advent. Do whatever you can to be a person who pursues and reflects that peace this holiday season. 5

PEACE CONTINUED RESPOND QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Why is peace often so hard to come by during the holiday season? 2. What is the difference between the temporary peace of the world and the lasting peace of Christ? 3. What do you think your life would look like if you let peace rule in your heart? 4. What is one thing you can do to pursue peace this holiday season? PRAYER God, thank You that You came to be our Prince of Peace. When we feel tempted to give into stress this holiday season, let Your peace rule in our hearts. We want to be people who pursue and show Your eternal peace to everyone we come in contact with this season. FAMILY TIME One of the best things you can do this holiday season is make the choice to pursue peace as a family. Read Colossians 3:15 as a family. Talk about what it means to be a person who chooses peace. Then, commit to doing that as a family! To do that, sit down together and come up with a Peace Agreement. Make a list of the ways you are going to commit to choosing peace during the holidays. This can include things like helping each other out with chores, offering to share your toys, committing not call each other names, attempting to avoid arguments, and doing fun activities together. After you ve created your list, have everyone in your family sign it as an agreement that they are going to do their best to pursue peace. Then, post the list somewhere your family can see it as a reminder of the agreement you ve made with each other. At the end of the holiday season, do something special as a family to celebrate the ways you chose peace over the last few weeks. Talk about the times it may have been hard to pursue peace and acknowledge the ways in which choosing peace made your household feel better. Finally, pray together as a family that you ll continue to commit to pursuing peace in your household in the coming year. 6

WEEK THREE JOY READ This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 NLT When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. Matthew 2:10 NIV UNDERSTAND There s nothing better than Christmas morning when you re a kid. The anticipation of what s waiting under the tree or in your stocking starts as soon as you open your eyes. You jump out of bed, run down the stairs, and just the sight of what s arrived for you on Christmas morning fills you with joy. Now, think back to the story of the birth of Christ. Even then, so many were waiting with anticipation for His arrival. They were looking forward with so much expectation to what they d so long believed was coming the Savior who would end their waiting and renew their joy. And when the people then finally got word that their Savior had come, they were filled with joy. Just the sight of the star that would lead them to Christ filled them with more joy than we could even imagine. It was like Christmas morning times a million! This Advent season, don t miss out on the opportunity to let Christ fill you with that same joy. Remember what His arrival meant for the world for your world and let that fill your heart with the joy of a life changed by Jesus. 7

JOY CONTINUED RESPOND QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What s one thing you re anticipating or looking forward to this season? 2. What things bring you joy in your life? 3. How can you experience the joy of Christ this Advent season? 4. How can you share that joy with others? PRAYER Lord, you are the One who fills our hearts with joy. Thank You for the way Your life changed our lives for the better. Thank You for the joy you made possible through Your Son. This Advent, fill us with Your joy. FAMILY TIME What brings you joy? A good meal, a kind gesture, a fun time with your family? Talk with your kids about the things in their lives that make them feel joyful. Then, create a Joy Jar where each one of you can keep track of the things that bring you joy during the Advent season. Everytime a member of your family has a joyful experience, they can write it down and place it in the Joy Jar. Keep the project going until the jar is filled to the top! When the jar is full, sit down together as a family and read the contents of the Joy Jar together. This is a great opportunity to not only remember some of the things that brought joy to your family this holiday season, but to also talk about why those things or experiences made you joyful. 8

WEEK FOUR LOVE READ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7 NIV Love is all you need. UNDERSTAND The Beatles were on to something with that famous lyric, right? As we close the Advent season, remember that it s ultimately the love of God that we celebrate and remember this season. It s His love that motivated Him to send His Son to Earth. It s His love that made Him want to save us. It s His love that sustains us in this life. And it s His love that connects us to others. At its very core, the Advent season is all about the love that God has for us His people. It s a love like none other a love that changed every single thing about our lives. Don t let the Advent season close without pausing to reflect on the love God has for you. Thank Him for His love and the lengths He went thousands of years ago to demonstrate it to us. Then, ask Him to help you share that love with someone who may need it this year. In the same way the Advent season changed our lives with God s love thousands of years ago, it can still change the lives of those around us today. God s love really is all we need. 9

LOVE CONTINUED RESPOND QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What s one way you ve experienced God s love in your life? 2. How has God s love changed your life? 3. How can you remember the love of God through His son Jesus this holiday season? 4. What can you do to share that love with someone else? PRAYER God, thank You for Your love. There truly is no greater gift to celebrate this season than the love that motivated you to send Your Son, Jesus, to Earth for us. We are so grateful for the way Your love changed our lives. Fill us with that love and give us the chance to share it with those who may need it this season. FAMILY TIME Make an effort to teach your children what it looks like to share God s love with others this season. Together, come up with ways you can demonstrate the love of God in your community, in your family, or in your church this season. Maybe it s through serving together, giving to those in need, or simply being kind. Brainstorm your ideas for sharing love together and create a list. to others this holiday season. Make plans to do it before the holidays are over. After you do, talk with your kids about what it felt like to share the love of God with others through service, action, or words. Then, pray that God will continue to show you ways you can share His love with those around you in the coming year. Then, choose just one thing from your list that you can do together as a family to show the love of God 10

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!